Into the Darkness
by themiller
Summary: Story of Percy's life in the weeks leading up to SoN... T because a  I'm paranoid and b  who know's what'll happen, eh? -ON HIATUS!
1. Prologue

**A/N: Ok. First multi-chapter story. Kinda nervous. Read, review, even if it's just to tell me to move on to another story. Just give me something.**

**And you guys are amazing. Wasn't expecting the strong feedback from Thirty-Two Times in a Row, seeing as it was OOC, but wow…**

**Talk about motivation!**

**P.S. Just so you guys know, the stuff with my girlfriend happened months ago. I mean, I figured out about the cheating a couple weeks ago, but I was over it by then. I'm actually in a new relationship.**

**Thought you guys ought to know, seeing as you seemed to think I was a heartbroken teenager with nothing but the thoughts in his head and a computer for comfort.**

**Anyways.**

**Sorry about the long AN**

**Into The Darkness**

Prologue

"Ugh… Annabeth…"

Annabeth. Was that my name? I somehow doubted that. Annabeth was important, but it definitely wasn't what I wanted to be known as.

What about… Percy? Yes. That's who I am.

It's all coming back now. My name is Perseus Jackson. I… wait.

That's all I know. I know my name, and the name of an extremely beautiful girl with blond princess curls and these startling grey eyes that I doubt anyone could forget.

But that's all.

Other than that? Nada. Zippo.

I'm like I marker board that just got bleached. Except they missed the upper-right hand corner, so I still have some of my former self.

Ha. Former self. Seeing as I'm alone in the woods in the middle of who-knows-where, I somehow doubt "former self" is applicable to me.

But I want it to. So badly. And, to be truthful, most of that desire has to do with this Annabeth.

Maybe that's why I remembered her.

But once again, my gut said otherwise. I got this feeling that nothing in the universe could cause me to lose the memory of her.

So my memory of her wasn't supposed to happen, I might want to keep it on the down low. Because even if that memory is an accident, it's the only thing keeping me sane.

I look down at my tattered clothing.

Orange t-shirt and jeans.

Why orange? While I may not have a memory, my emotions still exist, and I'm pretty sure my favorite color is a mix between blue and green. Definitely no orange there.

There's faded lettering on the shirt, but I have no hope of reading it. The jeans… well, let's just say it's a good thing that they aren't designer. Whoever my mom is, I'm pretty sure she would kill me if she saw them.

Ok. So, as far as I can tell, appearance is, on a scale of one to ten, like a negative two. Great

Mental well-being—Considering I don't have a memory other than a girl's face and name, why don't we stick with a great big goose egg.

Emotional state—hard to assess.

Why? Well, I feel like I just woke up from a nap that took around six months. Which means I may never have to sleep again.

I wish.

So, if my grogginess guess is correct, I just lost six months of my life to my stupid butt that was too lazy to get out of bed, and as punishment, I was dropped in the middle of nowhere.

Speaking of my placement in the world, why don't I describe that? After all, the part of my life story that I know about is now in your head too, so I might as well describe my surroundings.

So, first of all, there's trees.

Huge, enormous trees. Trees that look like they've been around at least ten times as long as I have. Trees that I'm pretty sure are well past the hundred foot marker. Trees that make me wish for huge skyscrapers… so, I guess I live in a city.

Then, of course, there's the cold. The biting, freezing cold. It's the kind of cold that makes you want to go hide in a hole.

And then… the feeling I'm getting from this place.

It's like I know I **need **to be here, but at the same time, I **shouldn't** be here.

A fish out of water.

My gut sends me another message, this one notifying me that that phrase applies to me in more ways than one.

I want nothing more than to go find this Annabeth person. If I remember her, then she must have been pretty amazing.

Though, truth be told, her looks were unforgettable enough.

But I have a feeling that wasn't the only reason I remembered her.

Actually, right now, there is one more memory. One of her throwing her arms around my neck, laughing, saying something like "Seaweed Brain", and kissing me in such a manner that it felt rather like my mind was being melted.

Except, you know, way better than that.

As I considered this, I decided to scout around, maybe find someplace to make a camp. Even though any camp I make is going to be one sorry excuse of a base camp, seeing as it'll be missing a few key elements: tent, food, fire pit, and general happiness.

Camp.

That word has meaning to me.

More significant meaning than the fact that one of those will be my home for the night.

Then I heard the rustling.

Now, while I may not have a memory, I'm still pretty sure that a normal human wouldn't have heard that. If I had stepped on an ant, that tiny crunch would have been louder.

Add that to the list of questions that I'm sure will continue to grow—If I'm not human, then what am I?

But back to the noise. Yeah so, as soon as I heard it, I whipped out a pen. Weird. Even weirder, I had the urge to uncap it. What was I gonna do, doodle it to death? I once again got that feeling of faint memory, this telling me that any art skills I have are better kept a secret.

Ok. Fine. Uncap the pen. But, as I found out, it's not a pen. It's ACTUALLY a three-foot long sword that seems to fit in my hand perfectly. It definitely seems more like an extension of my arm than a sharp piece of metal. I check the hilt, looking for anything that might like, I don't know, trigger some form of recall.

I get the feeling that Annabeth would be totally shocked that I just came up with that idea. So, apparently not the sharpest tool in the shed. Great. Another problem. Just what I need.

The hilt reads _Anaklusmos_, which my brain tells me means Riptide. Riptide. My gut, once again, tells me that I have a long history with this sword.

Considering that the freaking thing turns into a pen, I'm thinking that history will soon be over.

And then I remember the noise that brought the pen out in the first place.

And, well, let's just say I'm glad my history with Riptide hasn't ended just yet.

Because there is a huge, menacing, terrifying wolf standing not ten yards from me.

And I think it's trying to say something to me.

**A/N: First off, so sorry about stealing the "one more memory" part from SoN. It just seemed like the scene wouldn't be complete without it.**

**Second, don't ask why it's called Into the Darkness. I'm not even entirely sure. Shows you how far ahead this guy plans. Don't worry though. I'll work it in somewhere.**

**Third, I'm freaking happy right now. Why? THIS IS MY FIRST STORY THAT ISN'T TOTAL FLUFF! I know, I know, there's still a little, but it's required to show Perce's feelings right now.**

***Ignore the part below if you don't wanna hear any rambling. Or if you find it offensive to talk about people that stray from the social norms. **

**Now, I before I finish, I need to answer a question that I'm sure has been on all of your minds. This question is completely legitimate, considering what the genre for my stories has been so far. Up till this point, I've written pure fluff. This brings up the thought: "Wait, themiller is a guy, right? Is he gay? Bisexual? Or totally emo?" I can safely say that I am none of those things. I have nothing against people who are (one of my best friends is completely gay, my other one has an awesome bisexual girlfriend, and my roommate is totally emo. Not even kidding. My life is strange). I am almost your typical All-American dude. Play basketball and baseball, Christian, totally love hot dogs… and I currently have a **_**girlfriend**_**. The "almost" part comes from the fact that I go to a military boarding school in Indiana, which is designed to create "tomorrow's leaders". So, it's not like the Citadel, where you go for reform, it's a pretty privileged place to be. Continuing that, I'm not some rich snob either—my mom's a teacher and my dad works as an engineer for AMTRAK. No, the only reason I go to this school is I have a full-ride scholarship, which is totally epic.**

**Anyways. Sorry about that.**

**Just wanted to get the message out that despite all evidence, I'm not gay.**

**Once again, sorry about the long A/N.**

**Finally…**

**FIRST MULTI-CHAPTER STORY! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D**

**Read and review!**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Sorry about the wait, I got busy with finals… and baseball. And everything. Sorry**

**Anyways, here's ****Into the Darkness****, Chapter 1…**

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><p>I'm pretty sure that there isn't much in the world that could scare me. Maybe I just lost my memory, but at the same time, my gut was once again sending me silent messages about my past. And those messages seemed to say that I was a pretty brave dude, all in all. And wolves certainly didn't scare me. They were practically just big, vicious, more angular dogs.<p>

But I'd never seen a wolf stare at me like this. Hades, I'd never seen a wolf this big before. But those eyes… they seemed to say _No matter how bad you are, I'm ten times worse. I will rip you to shreds, inferior being_.

I don't doubt it.

Of course, the fear this dog was causing was not a fear of injury, or even death. Based on the number of scars on my body, I am pretty sure I've been injured too many times to count. And death was something that I had already come to terms with. This wasn't a memory, but a state of mind. It was a way of life. That couldn't be taken away by amnesia.

No, I feared not being able to see Annabeth again. I feared not regaining my memory, too, but mostly, I just feared not being able to hold that beautiful girl that was the entire consistence of my memory at this point. I want to hold her, touch her, talk to her, laugh with her, cry with her, _kiss her_.

And I'm absolutely sure this wolf could take away any chance I have of doing so.

But, despite the vicious look in the beast's eyes, it didn't pounce. It didn't try to rip me apart. It didn't growl ferociously. It didn't even tense. It merely flicked its tail in the direction behind it, as if gesturing for me to come towards it, then turned around and began loping in that direction.

So… The wolf is intelligent?

Guess so.

Surprisingly, that knowledge doesn't actually surprise me.

Haha. Wordplay. Annabeth would appreciate that…

Wait, why would she appreciate that?

GOD DAMMIT!

Why can't I remember?

Oh, crap, the wolf is moving… Better follow.

I move in the general direction of the wolf, but don't ever let my guard down. Too many bad experiences with seemingly harmless beings… and this one wasn't even seemingly harmless.

Wait…

Huh?

Who knows…

As I follow this giant wolf, I begin to notice a feeling that I shouldn't be here. It gets steadily more powerful as we traipse farther into the dense undergrowth. Yet as much as I believe that this is a mistake, I also realize that I don't have any other options. I have no idea who I am or where I am, so this is the only choice to take.

Not that I think it's a good one.

After what seems like hours of hiking through the forest, we finally arrive at a clearing. Though clearing is said objectively, since the "clearing" is full of the giant remains of a once-spectacular house that….

That what?

It was something about Annabeth again…

But, as always, the memory is more of an instinctual thought that makes no sense to me. Nothing more than a reflex.

And it was frustrating the hell out of me.

What took away my…. Oh shit.

The wolf is doing something.

It stares into my eyes with its ferocious gaze, and then performs a complicated series of motions that look random, but somehow mean my mind translates as _Hello, hero. Welcome to the Wolf House._

I jump about three feet in the air at that. So not only is the freaking thing intelligent, it can actually speak. Great. Just freaking great.

_Don't look so surprised hero. You are here for a reason… a reason I happen to dislike. But a reason nonetheless._

A reason? Does that mean I lost my memory for a reason.

_Your memory will be returned to you if you merely do as I ask. Follow my instructions to the letter, and you will survive. Survival means gain. And, in your case, gain means the return of your memories._

"Does that include Annabeth?"

The wolf cocked its head, informing me that I had somehow managed to confuse the hell out of it. _I know nothing of this Annabeth you speak of. However, if she remains in your memory, you must share a strong bond with her. If this is so, then yes, your complete memory of her will be returned to you… if you survive._

"Which means following your orders, no matter what.

_You learn quickly, Son of Neptune. I believe I will enjoy breaking you._

Breaking me?

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><p><strong>AN: Ok, so I know that in SoN it says that he spent part of the time with Lupa learning the language. But he was only there a month, and most of that time would have been spent learning how to actually be a member of the wolfpack. So, I figured I'd take the idea from all the other books and just have him automatically know how to speak it.**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Ok, so I'm finally getting back to this… Sorry about that.**

**Anyways, here's chapter two of ****Into the Darkness****…**

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><p>Lupa hadn't been kidding when she said she was going to break me.<p>

Well, actually, she did her _best_ to break me. It just wasn't exactly enough.

For the first few days, all I did was train against her wolves. It wasn't easy, but I also realized that, with my inherent fighting ability, I had probably faced tougher opponents many times before.

That doesn't mean that I made short work of them.

For example, on my second day at the Wolf House, I was faced with five wolves at once. My blade had been magically blunted so that I wouldn't actually kill the wolves, merely bruise them. I wish I could say the same for their claws.

The toughest and fiercest one, _Ferociter_, was proving to be a problem. Most of the time, a wolf would jump at me, I would sidestep, and then strike them with my blade, "killing" them.

However, this particular she-wolf was learning. It was obvious that the wolves weren't used to my style of fighting. They were more accustomed to a sharper, more angular flow of movement, as opposed to my languid and fluid motions that seemed to dazzle the bystanders.

Their unfamiliarity with my style was helpful, but I recognized that _Ferociter_ was catching on. Instead of jumping blindly at me, which would cause a stricter opponent to simply back off in order to reach a better angle, she would creep in while I was being assaulted, then bite my leg.

Like I said before, I wish that the wolves had blunted their weapons as well.

It was apparent that it really didn't matter to them whether I lived or died.

I was quickly realizing that I was going to have to do something about that troublesome she-wolf. However, as I began to actually try to plan something, I realized that I consciously had no idea what I was doing. My instincts were in total control.

So I built off that.

I turned my attention to the other wolves, completely focusing on them, consciously ignoring _Ferociter_. I swung, ducked underneath a leaping lupine, twirled _Anaklusmos _around in order to block a clawed paw, stabbed at a wolf that was getting a bit too close for comfort, used the momentum on the pull-back to take a diagonal swipe at a toothy jaw, and then…

All of a sudden, every nerve in my body screamed at me to continue that momentum for a downward strike at an opponent I couldn't even see.

Which turned out to be _Ferociter._

The strike caught her on the head, effectively knocking her unconscious as if she had been struck by a large metal club. Which, with the magical blunting of my sword, she practically had been.

I quickly finished off the rest of my enemies, then lowered my sword into a resting position.

Lupa trotted within five feet of me, then looked up into my eyes. _Congratulations, Son of the Sea. You have defeated one of the greatest squads of warriors ever to walk the surface of Gaea. We now move on to the second phase of your training—mock battles against the undead warriors of Rome's past._

My only thought was, "_Second phase?"_

To give you a point of perspective, I later learned that there were a total of ten phases of training, and that I only had time for four of them. So I would be skipping around a lot. My "second phase" was most trainees' fourth.

Oh, what fun.

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry about the shortness. Promise the next one will be longer, but I felt I had to give you guys something.**


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